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Digital TV and state abuse of power
148/Robert Henderson
21/11/05: The real reason why we are being forced to go to digital TV is government greed. The decision to turn off the analogue TV signal was made in the hope that the analogue waveband freed up would provide a bonanza similar to that which arose when the G3 wavelengths were sold off to the mobile phone companies.
Digital TV is going to be a costly pain in the neck. Every non-digital TV will have to be fitted with a digital box or replaced with a digital TV. A decent box which will allow full function recording of programmes is currently around £200. All current recording equipment which is not digital will become defunct.
Unlike analogue TVs in many parts of the country it is unlikely that an internal aerial will pick up the digital signal adequately. This will mean the fitting of an expensive aerial to the roof and aerial sockets in every room where a TV is to be used. Portable TVs will become next to impossible to use outside the home and difficult to use in the home because of the external aerial problem which will mean a st cannot be carried around.
How good the signal will be is debatable. I have a digital radio and even in London where the signal is strong, getting a constant and clear signal is problematic.
The other great problem will be people, especially the old, coming to terms with both fitting the new technology and operating it.
This change is a classic example of a government simply ignoring the wishes and convenience of the public. The democratic way would be to maintain the present situation with both analogue and digital signals until there is no market for the analogue system.
The final question to ask is by what right do governments sell that which belongs to the country as a whole?
Last modified: Monday, November 21, 2005
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